I repeatedly assured Jude that I wouldn't harass him with random calls again.

His expression grew darker. After a long pause, he said coolly with certainty, "You're just throwing a tantrum, Serena Braun."

Then, he turned to leave and tossed a single sentence over his shoulder. "If you want to make a fuss, go ahead. Just remember to clean up my study."

I opened my mouth to say something, hesitated, then thought better of it. Instead, I took out my phone, yawning as I started searching for a suitable nanny.

I was done. I simply couldn't do it anymore.

Looking back, I actually admired my past self.

Every morning at 6:00 am, I would be in the kitchen, meticulously preparing breakfast for Oliver, who had a long list of allergens. By 7:00 am, I would have another breakfast ready for Jude, who had a sensitive stomach.

After hastily choking down a few bites for myself, I would begin deep cleaning the entire house. Jude was a compulsive neat freak and wouldn't tolerate a single speck of mess in the house. His study had to be especially spotless and perfectly organized.

Today, I tried to recreate that version of myself in my memories and nearly collapsed from exhaustion. I had probably shoved files back randomly while tidying the study. Maybe that was why Jude had come in earlier to give me a special reminder.

I drifted off to sleep, but minutes later, loud banging on the door woke me up.

"Why aren't you up making breakfast yet? I'm going to be late for school!" Oliver impatiently shouted.

It was time to make breakfast, but luckily, I had planned ahead.

"I ordered takeout for breakfast. It'll arrive soon," I said before rolling over and going back to sleep.

Just before I drifted off, I could hear his angry kicks against the door. "Dad shouldn't have brought you back. Maddie usually makes me breakfast, while you're just useless."

The next time I opened my eyes, Jude was roughly yanking me out of bed.

"What did you feed Oliver?" he demanded.

While I was utterly confused, he dragged me straight to Oliver, who was covered in red blotches and struggling to breathe.

"Even if you're mad, you shouldn't have taken it out on Oliver. He has a severe allergy, and if I'd found him another later, he could've suffocated."

The ambulance soon arrived and took Oliver to the hospital.

I followed and quickly explained, "I don't know why this happened. When I placed the customized breakfast order, I listed all his allergens and discussed everything in detail.

"They promised it would be safe, so I never thought Oliver would show an allergic reaction."

Jude shot me an annoyed glare. "Stop making excuses. You drove away the two nutritionists I hired and forced a strict diet on Oliver. He was so fed up with your control and said a few nice things in Maddie's favor, so now you're trying to punish him."

"No, that's not it. It was because—"

"Save it," he coldly cut off the rest of my explanation. "Don't make me regret restoring your memory."

In truth, I controlled Oliver's diet and stopped him from eating recklessly because he had a unique, allergy-prone constitution. The two nutritionists had quit within a week because they realized managing a child with his level of allergies was exhausting and troublesome work.

But that was fine. Explaining to Jude took too much effort, and none of that would be my concern once the new nanny arrived.

The doctor said it was a honey allergy. Since Oliver hadn't eaten much, it wasn't serious. All he needed was an IV drip.

When I called the restaurant to inquire, the manager said the honey item was a complimentary side, clearly labeled as an allergen with a warning sticker attached.

Oliver must have let his sweet tooth get the better of him.

He had always loved sweets, but he was allergic to honey and chocolate. In the past, my strict rules kept him safe, and now accidents happened the moment I wasn't paying attention.

Just as I turned to explain to Jude, a soft, warm weight suddenly wrapped around my legs.

"Serena!"

"Isabel? What are you doing at the hospital?"

I squatted down in surprise and pulled Isabel Frazier into my arms. She was my little companion during my amnesiac days.

During my time in the hospital, I was terrified and lost. It felt like someone had hollowed out a massive hole in my heart.

I drifted through the days in a constant dazed state and felt completely at a loss, like a piece of driftwood tossed about by a storm. I even struggled with the most basic tasks.

Isabel was the one who had patiently taught me, as if she were guiding a preschooler. She stayed with me, talked to me, and kept me company, so I felt less lonely in the hospital.

"She fell off the swing while playing and hit her head, so we're here to get it checked," her uncle, Fredric Moss, explained. His eyes lit up when he saw me, as if he was clearly pleased.

"Oh, no. Are you okay? Does it hurt?" I worriedly ruffled Isabel's hair.

She hugged my neck and nuzzled my cheek. "I'm okay. I just really missed you."

"I missed you, too."

As Fredric watched us tenderly, his refined features softened into a trace of concern. "Why are you here? Are you sick? Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine. My son had an allergic reaction, so we came to the hospital."

"Oh… That's good," he said with a relieved sigh, then quickly corrected himself. "Wait—that's not what I meant. Is your son okay?"

I couldn't help laughing. "He's fine. He just needs an IV."

Fredric was about to say more when Jude's angry voice rang out behind us. "Serena!"

I turned around to see Jude's gaze shift from Fredric to my face. The smile on my face made him frown.

"Oliver's crying."

I immediately looked over at Oliver. The swelling on his face had partially subsided. Maybe the allergic reaction was too uncomfortable because his eyes were full of tears.

Crying, he angrily and anxiously pointed at Isabel. "Who is she?"

"This is Isabel. She kept me company while I was in the hospital.

"Stop crying now. It'll feel uncomfortable if tears get on your skin. Besides, as the older one, you should set a good example for the little one."

Something about my words seemed to make him even angrier because he started crying and shouting, "I don't know her! Get out! I don't want you taking care of me!"

Oliver had never liked me. He had tried to kick me out of his room more times than I could count.

Seeing him get so worked up that blood started backing up into his IV tube, I turned around and immediately walked out.

I didn't stick around to see him pull a face and start sobbing harder the moment I was gone.

After raising the pay several times, I finally found a nanny who was willing to come in for a tryout. I told Jude and Oliver in advance, "I've found a suitable nanny who'll come by later. Since you'll both be home, you can see if she fits."

Oliver, who had been inexplicably quieter and less hostile since the hospital incident, spoke up in a small voice. "Mom… I-I thought you didn't like having strangers in the house."

It felt like a lifetime since he had called me "Mom." Usually, it was just "hey, you" or my name.

Whenever I scolded him, he would just get more rebellious and say he didn't like a mom like me, and that Maddie was a thousand times better.

For a second, I was so startled that goosebumps crept up my skin. I brushed aside the discomfort and let out a dry laugh. "Having a nanny will make things easier."

Jude adjusted his glasses and chimed in, "It's probably for the best that you're taking a break, but…"

He gave a light snort and continued, "Don't find some ridiculous excuse to fire her once she's here, like claiming she's trying to seduce me."

The mention of my embarrassing past made me cringe so hard my scalp tingled.

That was just what being helplessly in love had done to me.

I remembered that when a nanny had simply forgotten her clothes and stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, I decided she was trying to seduce Jude and kicked her out of the house the same night.

Thankfully, losing and regaining my memory shook off that lovesick mentality. Otherwise, who knew how much more humiliation I would have caused?

Just as I was about to promise it would never happen again, the doorbell rang. Oliver glanced at me cautiously and surprisingly answered it himself.

There was some commotion at the door.

I was wondering what was happening when Maddie walked in, looking youthful and pretty. "So this really is Dr. Dixon's house!

"I saw the listing for a nanny and thought that I should apply since I could help you out. So, here I am."

The calm mask Jude always wore finally cracked. He slammed his glass onto the table and splashed water everywhere.

"I've told you countless times that Maddie and I have a purely professional, doctor-patient relationship—nothing more! Why would you make her come work as a nanny just to humiliate her?"

I scrambled to find words to explain myself.

No nanny could meet the long list of requirements I had set. She was the first to agree, so I had told her to come over before checking who she was.

How could I have known it was Maddie?

Still, there was no point in trying to explain now. All I could do was try to salvage the situation. "I know that I was too sensitive and realized I was wrong about her.

"She's willing to work here as a nanny, and since the two of you spent three months together and got to know each other during the treatment sessions, she seems like a good fit. It makes up for my past mistakes, too…"

My words sounded magnanimous, but Jude's chest tightened as he studied my expression.

I looked relaxed and even carried a radiant smile, as if I had finally shed a heavy weight. I was more beautiful than I had ever been in years.

A strange, suffocating sensation rose in his chest, along with the sudden fear that something important was slipping through his fingers.

While he was silent, Maddie's eyes reddened.

"Am I causing you trouble, Dr. Dixon? I'm so sorry. You gave me free treatments, stayed up with me every night until midnight, and even took me abroad into the mountains for psychological therapy.

"I feel grateful and indebted, so that's why I'm here.

"I didn't realize I'd be the cause of a fight. I'm so sorry. I'll leave right away."

…

After all that explanation, of course, Maddie stayed. Jude even went out of his way to warn me to remember what I had said and not make things tough for her on purpose.

With that, he gently brushed my cheek and murmured in a low voice, "You don't have to force yourself to behave just to please me, Serena. I'm used to the noisy you.

"I changed the sheets in the master bedroom to your favorite set. Come back and sleep in the room tomorrow."

His words seemed to ring a bell in my mind.

They brought me back to the times in college, when Jude was the campus star. He had good looks and was cool and brilliant in his studies.

So, when I finally managed to win him over, I was so thrilled that I announced it to the world and staked my claim everywhere. I even yelled at the ladies who gave him love letters.

It drew a lot of gossip and mockery. People said Jude and I were completely mismatched, that I behaved like a shrew, and that we would sooner or later break up.

I was upset for two days.

Jude heard about the comments. For the first time, he skipped class to find me and pulled me into his arms. "I like how noisy you are. That means you love me very much."

But after we got married, my constant jealousy and tantrums wore him down. He went from comforting me to thinking I was too insecure, and eventually grew annoyed.

He grew colder with every passing day until he finally scrawled a single line of diagnosis on the psychological evaluation form assessing my mental state.

"Perimenopausal shrew."